A Vacaville man was hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after being struck by a car as he darted in front of on-coming traffic while riding his bike in central Vacaville, police said.

Omar Reyes, 36, was riding north along the curb in the 1100 block of Burton Drive around 3:51 p.m. when for unknown reasons he steered to the right, heading eastbound across the southbound lanes of Burton and crossing into the path of an on-coming southbound Toyota Corolla, said Vacaville police Lt. Matt Lydon.

The car struck the bike broadside, throwing Reyes head-first into the windshield of the car, driven by 23-year-old Vacaville resident Christine Balingit, said Vacaville police Officer James Smith. Witnesses estimate Balingit, who was not injured, was traveling approximately 30 mph -- the posted speed limit -- at the time of the collision, Smith said. The force shattered the windshield of the car and sent the bike flying approximate 30 feet from where it collided with the vehicle.

Witnesses called 911 as others rushed to Reyes, who was lying in the roadway, and asked his name, which they said he gave but was unable to provide any other information prior to the arrival of medics. They informed responding emergency personnel of blood coming from a head injury suffered by Reyes, and a possible broken ankle.

Lydon said he remained conscious as personnel from the Vacaville Fire Department arrived and loaded him into a waiting ambulance and transported him to a designated landing zone at the Vacaville Cultural Center, where he was met by a Calstar air ambulance. Reyes, who also suffered an arm injury, was flown to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek for treatment.

Residents of a nearby apartment complex came out to watch as officers investigated the accident, which temporarily closed Burton Drive at Ulatis Drive and rerouted traffic around the scene.

Traci Bender was driving north on Burton Drive on the way to do some shopping when the accident occurred.

"It just happened so fast," Bender recalled, adding that she never saw where the bike came from before seeing it flying through the air. "I didn't know what to think seeing something like that."

Another witness traveling several car lengths behind Balingit echoed the suddenness of the crash, adding "I don't even think she (the driver) had time to stop."

The collision remains under investigation, but Lydon noted that driving under the influence "was not a factor in the cause of the collision."

As of press time, Reyes had undergone a CT scan, but the hospital could not provide any further information regarding his condition, Lydon said.